✅ CW617N - What is this material?
CW617N is brass, compliant with the EN 12165 standard. It is an alloy of copper, zinc, and lead, widely used in hydraulic, heating, sanitary fittings, and generally in the HVAC industry. Nordic Tec uses it, among other things, for the production of fittings/adapters for SAE threads for freon-to-water heat exchangers.
CW617N is brass, which is essentially an alloy of several elements, such as copper, zinc, and lead. Sometimes it may contain trace amounts of, for example, iron, aluminum, or nickel, which are rather impurities and do not impart many properties to it.
The exact standard composition of CW617N brass is as follows:
The chemical composition of the CW617N alloy is not entirely arbitrary; it must oscillate within the above limits—it is determined by European standards, mainly by EN 12165 (for rods and forged brass elements) and EN 1982 (for castings). These standards define the permissible percentage ranges for the main alloying elements—and if there is too much deviation, it is formally a different alloy.
CW617N has specific advantages due to its composition:
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CW617N brass, essentially an alloy of copper and zinc with the addition of lead, was developed as a material with excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. It is not known when it was developed, but it has been known for several thousand years. It is one of the most popular brasses.
The history of brass as a material dates back to antiquity—as early as the 3rd millennium BC, people discovered that adding zinc to copper allows for a metal with better strength and ease of processing. The modern CW617N alloy has been further optimized for machining and pressure casting, making it an ideal choice for the production of water fittings, valves, and fittings. Ultimately, its material standard was defined in the 20th century.
The designation CW617N stems from the aforementioned standards EN 12165 and EN 12164, which define the chemical composition (and thus indirectly the mechanical properties) of the alloy. Due to its high lead content (approx. 1.5-2.5%), CW617N is characterized by the highest machinability, although due to regulations limiting lead content in materials for contact with drinking water.
Currently, CW617N is widely used in Europe and worldwide, but due to increasingly stringent environmental standards, low-lead versions (e.g., CW724R) are being developed. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most commonly used brasses—whether in the hydraulic or heating industry.
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